Mathew sat on the floor of his house. His shirt was unbuttoned and his hair messed up. He still had his socks on.
He didn't know exactly how to feel. He still wasn't sure whether Mandy would let him back in her life. They have fought before but not like this.
He knew it. Mandy knew it. And even if they were to reconcile, things would never go back to the way they used to.
There was a knock on his door. He tried to get up in a hurry but he felt light headed. He leaned on the sofa and took a breather.
He then opened the door for Olivia.
"You look terrible!" Exclaimed Olivia
"I feel terrible." He said involuntarily, "Can I help you with something?"
Olivia wasn't sure. She came with conviction but at that moment she began having doubts.
"You found something out about Chris?" Asked Mathew, after seeing Olivia's hesitation.
"N- Nothing new. " Ejected Olivia. She sighed then dropped on the couch.
"I came to ask whether you want to continue with the search for the truth."
"I don't know! I was so sure. I went all the way to Kamiti for God's sake! Now, I don't know. " Mathew sat on the floor, with his knees pressed on his chest.
"What has changed?"
"Mandy- Mandy uh- Mandy doesn't want to see me."
Olivia moved from the couch and sat on the floor next to Mathew.
"I'm not sure either. Because this isn't just about finding the truth about Chris. It's supposed to shine a light on my future. And I don't know if I'm ready. I know if I do it, I may lose my parents' support. "
"It's about my future too. The reason I was doing this was to find dirt on Chris so that Shea could expel him from her life. Then she would rebound with me!" Mathew chuckled. It felt ridiculous saying it out loud.
"I get emancipation, you get love! It's a road we must take. "
"I haven't really dwelled on it but what if there is no dirt on Chris? What if we just uncover the truth and we find out he's a good guy? " Admitted Mathew
"I don't have it out personally with Chris. I just want to find out the truth. And I know you don't either. To be honest, Chris is Shea's first love. First love is always great but it doesn't last forever. You'll get your chance."
"So, the truth first."
"Yeah. I have some files. A lot of files that could contain the truth. We can check them out. "
"OK partner. See you tomorrow?"
Olivia smiled and got up. She walked the door.
"See you tomorrow! " Then she left
Shea's House
Chris made his way into the living room. He was tired from thinking too much.
Thinking about Shea. Thinking about Jack.
He needed to rest.
It turns out Shea was thinking too. Thinking about Chris. Worrying, rather. She hadn't heard from him the whole day.
"Chris?" Shea caught up to him on the stairs.
"Where were you? I was so worried!"
Chris wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her on the forehead.
"I'm fine. You can relax."
"You can't go out alone. You may be mugged again. I don't want anything to happen to you. "
"We can't live in fear because of a few incidents. You know, I will teach you some self defense techniques tomorrow. So that you feel safer. "
They were in the bedroom. Shea dropped on the bed. Clearly worrying about someone is exhausting.
"That's good. I was also thinking about hiring some bodyguards. " Said Shea
Chris didn't quite hear what she said. Shea was already out cold. Chris smiled at her. She slept like an angel, he thought.
Chris rolled into the sheets and let his heavy eyelids close. Usually he would roll around for five minutes before he slept. But that night, he immediately went under.
______________________________________________
That morning, the couple were woken up by the announcement of a guest. It was nine o'clock.
Mandy felt terrible waking them up but she needed to speak to Shea in person. What she had to say couldn't or shouldn't be said over the phone.
She had been patiently waiting for half an hour before Chris came down. They greeted each other then Shea arrived.
"Mandy! Why so early?" Said Shea cheerfully
"I came to say goodbye!" Said Mandy
"Goodbye. Where are you going?" Asked Shea
"I'm going to my born town. " Said Mandy
"Happy Harbour. "
Chris interjected," I know that place. I spent some time there. It's wonderful."
"Yes it is."
"When are you going? " Asked Shea
"Today. I booked a flight leaving at two in the afternoon. "
"Why so sudden?"
"I need the change. I need to reflect on some issues. Then I can come back. "
"So it's an indefinite leave."
"Yeah it is. But I may come to visit or you may come to visit. "
" It's Ok. Will you stay at a hotel?" Said Shea.
"No, I'll stay with my cousin. His name is Hussein, he converted after his mother died."
The two pull in for a hug. Mandy turns to Chris and hugs him. She then walks out with Shea.
"So what is this really about?" Asked Shea
Mandy forced a smile, a weak one though.
"I'm taking a break from my problems. Things have gotten so complicated. "
They embrace each other again.
"It's alright. I hope you find what you are looking for." Shea said in a sad voice
"Stay safe Shea."
Shea watched as Mandy made her way to her car.
Happy Harbour
Jack aligned the bodies together in the warehouse. The ones the held him captive and the ones who came to rescue him. Side by side.
He didn't mind what he did. He never liked the trio. To be honest, he never liked any of Chris's friends.
The trio of Kaniki, Babu and Edwin were merciless brutes. Their deaths didn't weigh on Jack's conscience.
He poured gasoline all over the bodies and the warehouse. The bodies were to be unrecognizable while the warehouse only mildly damaged.
Then, he proceeded to light them on fire. He watched from a far as the fire did it's work. When he was satisfied he got into one of the cars outside. It was Elvis's car.
He was just about to leave when Rachel showed up. She stood in front of the car.
"What happens now?" She shouted
"I thought you left." Replied Jack
"I did, then I realized I probably won't see you again."
"That's for the best!"
"After you supposedly died. I realised a lot of money and jewelry went missing. Along with pictures of me and you. For the longest time I thought what happened to you wasn't an accident. Then Rudolph was arrested. He swore to me that he didn't steal nor kill you. There was evidence that he stole though but not that he was a murderer. I need to know the truth. "
Jack slowly got out of the car. He walked up to her and stood a metre away from her.
"The job was to steal from you. And I did. Rudolph had been stealing money from you for a long time. He would take small amounts but with time it piled up. I found out. I knew no one else would so I framed him. "
"Why didn't you just leave? Why fake your death? "
"You can't search for me or wait for me to come back if I'm dead. "
"So all the time we spent together was so that you could get close and leave me pennyless. "
"Yes. But you aren't pennyless, are you?"
"Thanks to Golden Eagle Bank!" She spat
Jack got back into the car.
"The question still remains, what happens now?" Asked Rachel
"You go on with your life, never to see me again."
"You go on with your life? Conning people, stealing. You just go on destroying lives. You must answer for your crimes."
"Not today."
The car revs up. Rachel moves out of the way. She looked up to see the dust and Jack sped away.
"Soon!" She muttered to herself
As Jack drove away he thought of Rachel's words. He knew he had placed a huge target on his head after killing Kaniki, Babu and Edwin. He didn't know whether he would come out of it alive.
As long as Rachel was Okay, he didn't think twice about it.
Olivia's House
Olivia and Mathew were in the living room. There were many files on the table. Some were open.
"When you said you had files, I thought you meant like three or four." Grumbled Mathew
"Not goddamn sixteen. Some of them look like the Oxford Dictionary. "
Olivia glanced at him
"I've gone over two. How many have you gone over?" She asked menacingly
Mathew was still on his first file. He was going over a file titled Investigation Report.
"Doesn't matter. Two and one-"
Mathew glanced at the files Olivia had done. They were what he described as the Oxford Dictionary. His however was like a newspaper.
Mathew closed the file he was going over. He pushed it aside. He went over the titles of the remaining files. One caught his eye: Kiaru Don.
His interest was peaked. He opened it. There is a picture at the to right corner.
"Isn't this the guy who was in the photo with Chris?"
Olivia nodded. Mathew was invested now. He keenly went over the file. The file itself bore the weight of a magazine.
"It says here that he owned a bank called, Cobra Bank. Damn! What kind of name is that? Says here he was arrested then released then was killed in police custody." Mathew chuckled.
"What happened to Cobra Bank? I would really like to see their emblem."
" It was sold then renamed. It now goes by Golden Eagle Bank." Said Olivia
Mathew nodded and continued to go through the file. There was a paper which he unfolded. It contained a list of all the board of directors of the Cobra Bank.
He raced through the names. Some of the sir names he recognised; as the names of very rich business people in the country.
Debra Makini
Mark Thorne
Abubakar Bakari
Towards the bottom he came across a familiar name. A name he knew all too well.
"Obadiah Culen!"